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Deinonychus
Deinonychus (name meaning "Terrible Claw") is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that originated during the Early Cretaceous period in what is now North America. Measuring about 4 meters long and weighing around 68 kilos, it was one of the largest and best-known dromaeosaur dinosaurs that ever existed. In the episode "Clash of the Titans", a pack of Deinonychus pursued the team throughout a region of North America of 120 million years ago. The pack, including its leader Terri, was eventually brought back to the park. Facts Era & Discovery Deinonychus lived during the Early to Middle Cretaceous period, around 125–100 million years ago. Perhaps one of the top predators of its environment, it shared its environment with dinosaurs and other creatures like Iguanodon as well as Polacanthus, Ornithocheirus, Pteranodon, and the mighty Utahraptor. The very first remains of Deinonychus were discovered in 1931 in southern Montana near the town of Billings. Since then, fossils have been recovered from the U.S. states of Montana, Wyoming, and Oklahoma, in rocks of the Cloverly Formation and Antlers Formation, though teeth that may belong to Deinonychus have been found much farther east in Maryland. Deinonychus has also become one of the best-known dinosaurs. Physical Attributes Though not much larger than a human, Deinonychus was relatively large for a dromeosaur, in fact, it was the second-largest member of the raptor family, after Utahraptor. Deinonychus stood approximately 5–6 feet (1.6–2 m) tall, measured 8–13 feet (2.5–4 m) long, and weighed more than 150 pounds. Like all raptors, Deinonychus was a very fast, agile, quick, and swift predatory animal, capable of running at incredible speeds and being able to leap over 10 feet (3 m.) into the air, which it did in order to attack larger prey, such as Iguanodon. As a species of raptor, Deinonychus possessed the infamous killing claw on its foot, which it used to attack and bring down its prey. They possess thin but strong body frame, black and off-white skin patterns, and a coat of protofeathers along its neck, spine, shoulder regions and tail (which would stand up and bristle when Deinonychus was agitated, showing aggression or about to attack). It was also known to produce complex avian vocalizations varying from hisses and screeches to clucking. They began life as infants about the size of small cats. Much like Ornithomimus, male Deinonychus had blue coloring on their body while the females were gray in color. Behavior & Traits Like all members of the raptor family, Deinonychus was known to hunt in packs, with as many as three to more than nine individuals in a single pack. Additionally, much like a pack of wolves, the pack of Deinonychus was led by an Alpha. Intelligent, vicious and aggressive predators, Deinonychus would chase after their prey before jumping onto them to kill by biting and stabbing. Males were more aggressive than females. Surprisingly, Deinonychus had been shown to even fight off dinosaurs many times their own size, seen when Terri and his pack attacked a Giganotosaurus, despite the far greater size of its opponent. Because of their small body, it was hard for large predators to shake Deinonychus off. Journal Entry Gallery 3x10raptors1.jpg|''Deinonychus'' pack 4x1_RaptorInvestigatesAbby'sBag.png 2x1_Raptor_4.jpg|''Deinonychus'' eye 2x1_Raptor_120.jpg Trivia *The sound effects of Deinonychus are that of leopard, tiger, crocodile, altered pig squeals mixed with hawk screeches, and cobra hisses. *''Deinonychus'' was the first as well as the second-largest dromaeosaur brought to the park. Category:Prehistoric Animals Category:Dinosaurs Category:Reptiles Category:Cretaceous Dinosaurs Category:Cretaceous Wildlife Category:Dromaeosaurs (Raptors) Category:Carnivores Category:Theropods